Serves 6

Ingredients
For the caramel

160g/6oz sugar
unsalted butter, for greasing the ramekins

For the custard

4 free-range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
25g/1oz caster sugar
600ml/1 pint full-fat milk
pouring cream, to serve

Method

Pre-heat oven 150C/300F/Gas 2. Warm the ramekins in the oven, so they
are warm when the caramel is poured in.

First make the caramel. Pour the sugar and six tablespoons of water into
a clean stainless steel pan.

Dissolve the sugar slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon over a low heat.

When there are no sugar granules left, stop stirring and boil until the
sugar turns a dark copper colour.

Remove immediately from the heat to ensure the caramel does not burn.
Quickly pour the caramel into the warmed ramekins.

Set aside to cool and become hard. (Do not put in the fridge because the
sugar will absorb moisture and go soft and tacky).

Once hard, butter the sides of the ramekins above the level of the
caramel.

For the custard, whisk the eggs, vanilla extract and caster sugar
together in a bowl until well mixed.

Pour the milk into a saucepan, gently heat over a low heat until you can
still just dip your finger in for a moment, then strain the milk through a
fine sieve onto the egg mixture in the bowl.

Whisk together until smooth, then pour the mixture into the prepared
ramekins.

Stand the ramekins in a roasting tin and fill the tin half-way with
boiling water from a kettle.

Cook in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until the custard has set.
Do not overcook the custard – check around the edges of the dishes, to make
sure no bubbles are appearing.

Take the crème caramels out of the oven, remove the ramekins from the
tray and set on a cooling rack. When cool, transfer to the fridge overnight
so that the caramel is absorbed into the custard.

To serve, loosen the sides of the custard by tipping the ramekin and
loosen with a small palette knife round the edges. Place a serving dish on
top of the ramekin and turn upside down. Serve with pouring cream.

Recipe Tips

Make these the day before – if you turn the caramel custard out too soon,
the caramel stays in the bottom of the ramekins. But do turn them out just
before serving or the caramel will lose its colour.

If you prefer, the recipe can be made in a 1.2 litre (2 pint) dish and
cooked for 40-50 minutes.

Do not use a non-stick pan to make the caramel, it will not work, it will
crystallize. For a richer crème caramel add an extra two yolks to the eggs.

The base

Ingredients

500 grams bread flour
375ml bottle of Castle Lager
10g sachet of dried yeast
A pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 240 Centigrade.

Mix the dry ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add the beer, except for the last few drops, which the maker should drink.  Use a dough hook to mix until well combined.

Cover with a piece of oiled plastic and a tea towel.  Leave to rest in a warm place for a couple of hours during which time the dough should have doubled in size.

Turn out on to a well floured surface and form into a ball.  Weigh and divide into 4 equal parts.  (A little more than 200 grams each.)  Cover the remaining three potions while you prepare the first base.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a circle which will fit your pizza pan.  Prepare the pan with “spray & cook”. (Stick and spray.)  Use your finger tips to fit the dough circle to the edges of the pan, trying to achieve a uniform thickness.  Again using your fingers spread a small amount of olive oil (a few drops) to cover the pizza base.  Add two shakes of salt, evenly distributed.

Place the pizza base (and pan) on the bottom shelf of the oven and wait until the base begins to form bubbles.  About 5 minutes.

The Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

400g tin of chopped tomatoes.  In season, use fresh very ripe tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped and mashed with salt
freshly ground black pepper
half a handful of dried mixed herbs
optional, if available, in season: fresh basil leaves

Have this ready when the pizza base comes out of the oven.  Heat all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir and reduce to a spreadable sauce.  About ten minutes.  Spread a thin layer of the sauce evenly over the pizza base.

The Cheese

300 grams mozzarella cheese

Place the cheese in a deep freeze for a couple of hours.  This will make it much easier to grate.   Using one quarter of the cheese, spread an even layer after you have placed the topping of your choice on the tomato sauce covered base.  Return to the oven until the cheese melts and bubbles and you have what obviously looks like a delicious pizza.

Work together with a partner.  While one prepares the bases, the other will assemble the toppings.  In little more than half an hour, you will have four fantastic pizzas.

The Topping

Here are some of our favorites.  Remember, less is more!

ham, gherkins and chilli jam

olives, capers and anchovies

blue cheese, rocket and onion marmalade

salami and fried onions